Grade Level: Middle School

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  The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze

  In Great Mountain, Mississippi, everyone is watching Henson Blayze, a football genius. The predominately white townsfolk have been waiting for Henson to play high school ball, and now the township is overjoyed to have an exceptional Black athlete of their own.Until a horrifying incident forces Henson to speak out about injustice.

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  The True Story of Vanilla: How Edmond Albius Made History

  Edmond Albius a slave on a sugar plantation invented the process for hand polinating vanilla orchards plants.This book reveals the atrocities of slavery, and Albius’ struggle to be recognized as the inventor of the process.

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  Deep Dive: Tết Nguyên Đán

  Commonly called Tết, Tết Nguyên Đán is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. It’s the most important Vietnamese holiday and is celebrated between late January and mid February, marking the beginning of the lunar new year. As a time to celebrate with family and honor ancestors, Tết is a festive affair filled with wishes for health…

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  Deep Dive: Lunar New Year

  Families all over the world in countries such as China, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and more celebrate the Lunar New Year. To prepare for an auspicious year, families clean the house, feast, hang lanterns, and more! Read on to learn more about this very important tradition – specifically, the Year of…

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  A Duet for Home

  Last year, June Yang’s father spent months saving to buy her a viola, but her father has died in an accident, and the family has been evicted. They find a place at Huey House, a homeless shelter, but June isn’t allowed to bring her viola in to practice.

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  Dream Annie Dream

  Brown sensitively portrays Annie’s shift from a girl who changes to fit in with the majority culture to a person who is fully aware of racial prejudice.This highlights issues faced by many Asian Americans fighting for justice.

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  A Kid Like Me

  Ethan doesn’t want to stand out, he just wants to fit in. fitting in is tough when you have an old cell phone, broken backpack, and thrift shop clothing.

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  At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom

  At Last She Stood describes World War II in the Philippines, Joey’s spying, Louisiana, immigration, a person with leprosy, racism, and a peacemaker.

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  Malcolm Lives! The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Readers

  A comprehensive biography that covers the trauma of his early childhood through his criminal career, and prison time, then his later conversion to Islam and civil rights work. The biography continues through his assassination and continuing legacy.

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  Human Rights

  “All people deserve to be respected and valued. Regardless of where we were born, how much we have, what we believe or think, or our age or the color of our skin–all lives are important and we deserve to live them with satisfaction, justice, safety, and freedom. There are many different kinds of human rights…

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  Blue Stars, Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem

  In this graphic novel, cousins Riley Halfmoon and Maya Dawn move to Urbanopolis to live with their activist grandma, Outgoing Riley misses her Muscogee cousins, and introvert Maya misses her parents, on active duty in Japan. Can they find a way to work together to fix a problem at their school?

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  We Are Still Here!

  Twelve Native American kids present historical and contemporary laws, policies, struggles, and victories in Indigenous American people’s life. Cherokee author Traci Sorell has a Native rights advocacy background, and is active in both her tribal community as well as the broader Native American community.